KitGuru Games: Why GoT Hits Different – Sounds, Sensations and Subtleties

Despite being a PS4 game at its core, Sucker Punch made surprisingly excellent use of the PS5’s DualSense for the Director’s Cut – adding to the pre-existing DS4 features with support for adaptive triggers and advanced haptics.

The game makes rather subtle use of the triggers, primarily saving any resistance for when drawing your bow and arrow (among a few other rare occasions). When it comes to the haptics however, Sucker Punch went all out – while still showing a commendable level of restraint.

The DualSense is by far my favourite innovation of the PS5 solely due to the new haptics introduced with it. Being able to translate sounds directly into sensations has allowed Sucker Punch to offer a confident use of the rumble/haptics with a particular level of precision.

Running around, jumping, dodging, rolling and more are all accompanied by appropriate and dynamic levels of haptic feedback which serves to only enhance the groundedness and viscerality of the world. When riding your horse and trotting around Tsushima, you’ll feel every clip and clop of your horse’s hooves change in both strength and feeling depending on how fast you are going and what terrain you are currently on.

If done incorrectly, the overabundance of sensations and vibrations can be distracting – or even annoying – to some. Fortunately, Sucker Punch took a smart approach with it.

For times where there would be an extended use of haptics (such as when running or galloping on your horse), the initial rush of haptics are quite strong, but then slowly reduce in intensity over time – up until you come across new terrain at which point the haptics reactivate to give you new sensations for whatever texture you are currently on. This ensures that you still feel the maximum impact and effect of the haptics without it becoming a hindrance or overwhelming.

Other subtle uses of the haptics can be felt throughout. Cutscenes will make sparing-yet-effective use of the vibrations to further emphasis explosions, action and anything else the devs want to draw attention to – also serving as a subwoofer in some situations. Additionally, a large majority of the sound effects which played through the DualShock 4’s speaker have been enhanced on PS5 to also include appropriate haptics for the DualSense. From playing the flute to sheathing your sword, composing haikus or even opening the map – players are met with varying levels of haptics which all synergise with the sounds also playing through the speaker.

From the smooth sand-like rush of echoey vibrations when playing the flute to the whooshing which spreads through the controller as you summon a guiding wind, all serve to fully immerse and ground you within the experience. If done right, you won’t necessarily notice all these small sensations unless intentionally looking for them – yet regardless its effects are felt on a subconscious level.

Before we look at some of the various small and subtle additions which I feel are worth noting, I want to touch briefly on the game’s attention to immersion through its lore and worldbuilding. Yes, Ghost of Tsushima is a fictional game with a fictional story – but it is one based somewhat in real world history. As such, the team at Sucker Punch have taken great care into making the world feel as believable and grounded in the lore of historical reality as possible. None of this was necessary, but in going that extra bit further, Sucker Punch were able to make Ghost of Tsushima hit just that little bit extra.

One of the earliest examples occurs near the beginning of the game. The aforementioned guiding wind mechanic is of course created purely as a function of game design, and as such, no one would have looked twice if they had thrown the feature in without any explanation. Ghost of Tsushima does not do this however, instead having it be the spirit of Jin’s father guiding him to where he needs to go.

One small line spoken near the beginning of the game stuck with me throughout the whole playthrough. Despite Jin’s father being dead long before the events of the game itself, his presence is felt throughout – giving insight into Jin relationship and respect for his father as he guides the (sometimes) lost soul to where he needs to go and what he must do.

Similarly, a subtle exchange near the beginning of the game explains how your steed is not just any ordinary animal, but a samurai horse in particular – trained from birth to always return to its master. So while when actually playing it may be a bit odd that you can call your horse and it’ll trot along mere seconds later despite last abandoning it half an island away, this function of gameplay convenience has been given an in-world explanation as to why it works the way that it does.